Blair, in Mideast, Sees New Talks on Reforms

By GREG MYRE

Published: December 23, 2004

The visiting British prime minister, Tony Blair, detailed plans on Wednesday for an international conference on Palestinian reform that he portrayed as a ''modest first step'' in reviving Middle East peace efforts. But he warned that nothing would be accomplished if the Palestinians failed to act against terrorism.

Speaking at a news conference with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon of Israel, Mr. Blair said the conference, once envisioned as a sweeping discussion of Middle East issues among heads of state, would be a one-day ministerial affair, probably in early March. The purpose, he said, is to assess ways to help make Palestinian institutions more responsive and democratic, as well as less corrupt.

Mr. Blair is the most prominent international figure to visit the region since Yasir Arafat, the Palestinian leader, died last month. He met separately with Mr. Sharon and Mahmoud Abbas, the favorite to win the presidency of the Palestinian Authority in an election next month.

Mr. Blair was upbeat about reviving peace talks, but cautioned, ''There is not going to be any successful negotiation or peace without an end to terrorism.''

If the violence stops, he added, the Israelis and Palestinians should press forward with the dormant Middle East peace plan, known as the road map, which envisions a comprehensive peace deal and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

While the overall level of Israeli-Palestinian violence is down in many areas, there are still daily confrontations, particularly in the Gaza Strip.

Early Wednesday, Israeli troops charged into the Palestinian town of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip, killing three armed Palestinians during exchanges, according to the military and Palestinians. Soldiers killed a fourth Palestinian, in northern Gaza, when he tried to scale a fence on the border with Israel.

Israeli troops raided Khan Yunis last Friday and Saturday in an attempt to stop mortar and rocket fire directed at nearby Jewish settlements. The Palestinian fire resumed after the Israelis left over the weekend, the military said.

Also, Palestinian gunmen killed an Israeli security guard protecting a construction site where workers are building Israel's separation barrier near the West Bank city of Hebron.

At the moment, the main Middle East initiative is Mr. Sharon's plan to withdraw the 8,000 Jewish settlers from the Gaza Strip next year. While most Palestinians welcome the pullout, they are deeply skeptical of the intentions of Mr. Sharon, saying he views the Gaza withdrawal as a substitute for the peace plan and a means of avoiding the detailed negotiations it calls for.

Mr. Sharon, who refused to deal with Mr. Arafat, said he would be willing to return to the peace plan if terrorism was halted. But he said he had seen no concrete action so far on the part of the Palestinians.

Later, Mr. Blair traveled the short distance from Jerusalem to the West Bank city of Ramallah to see Mr. Abbas.

Mr. Blair briefly visited Mr. Arafat's gravesite in the battered compound where the Palestinian leader was confined for the final three years of his life. The compound continues to serve as the Palestinian political headquarters in the West Bank.

Mr. Blair, accompanied by Mr. Abbas, stopped for a moment in front of the glass-walled mausoleum, nodded his head, and then left.

Mr. Abbas, meanwhile, said he believed that Israeli-Palestinian negotiations were likely on the Gaza withdrawal after the Palestinian presidential election on Jan. 9.

''The pullout from Gaza should be part of the road map,'' he said at another meeting on Wednesday, this one with Italy's foreign minister, Gianfranco Fini. ''Without being part of the road map, it will not be complete.''